Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-20095

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software 9.12.1 … 9.8.4.8

Published
01 November 2023
Modified
11 August 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.6
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0064 47th percentile
Risk Priority 62 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-20095 is a high-severity Missing Release of Resource after Effective Lifetime (CWE-772) vulnerability in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software. Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Endpoint Denial of Service (T1499); ranked at the 47th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A vulnerability in the remote access VPN feature of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device.…

more

This vulnerability is due to improper handling of HTTPS requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTPS requests to an affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause resource exhaustion, resulting in a DoS condition.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1499 Endpoint Denial of Service Impact
Adversaries may perform Endpoint Denial of Service (DoS) attacks to degrade or block the availability of services to users.
T1499.002 Service Exhaustion Flood Impact
Adversaries may target the different network services provided by systems to conduct a denial of service (DoS).
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-20481Same product: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software
CVE-2024-20493Same product: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software
CVE-2026-20082Same product: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software
CVE-2026-20106Same product: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software
CVE-2026-20105Same product: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software
CVE-2023-20086Same product: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software
CVE-2026-20014Same product: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software
CVE-2026-20015Same product: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software
CVE-2026-20021Same product: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software
CVE-2026-20013Same product: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software

Affected Assets

cisco
adaptive security appliance software
9.12.1, 9.12.1.2, 9.12.1.3, 9.12.2, 9.12.2.1
cisco
secure firewall threat defense
6.2.3, 6.2.3.0, 6.2.3.1, 6.2.3.10, 6.2.3.11

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-772

Ensures network resources are released once the session ends or becomes inactive, closing the window for missing-release weaknesses.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

ID.AM-08 mostly match
prevents

Lifecycle management explicitly requires handling resources through end-of-life including release.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly prevent missing resource-release defects during development.

DE.CM-09 partial match
prevents

Runtime monitoring may surface resource-exhaustion symptoms but does not address release logic.

PR.IR-04 partial match
prevents

Capacity monitoring can detect exhaustion caused by unreleased resources but does not prevent the root defect.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

degrades

Explicit information-deletion requirements directly address timely release of resources after use.

prevents

Secure-SDLC practices include resource-management reviews, yet the control covers the entire lifecycle, not just this weakness.

prevents

Secure-coding rules can mandate explicit resource-release patterns, but the control is broader than this single weakness.

detects

Change-management processes may catch missing de-allocation during reviews, but the control itself does not target resource lifetime.

none

Configuration baselines can enforce resource limits or timeouts, indirectly reducing exposure to leaks.

References